Free calculator · US pricing in USD
How much does it cost to build a mobile app?
Answer seven questions about your app and get an itemised development cost estimate in US dollars — with a full breakdown, a realistic timeline and a recommended technical approach. Built on typical US market rates, updated for 2026.
- Emailed to you
- Itemised breakdown
- Takes about two minutes
Social mediaiOS + Android
Loop
For you
In your build
- Video / audio streaming
- Chat / messaging
- Real-time updates
- User registration & login
- +3 more
How it works
A real estimate, itemised and explained
Most “app cost calculators” hand back one vague number. This one itemises every line, shows exactly how it was calculated, and lets you change your mind as often as you like.
Describe the app
Pick a category, the platforms you need and how complex the build is. Each answer maps to a real cost factor rather than a vague slider.
Choose features and scale
Select the features version one genuinely needs, then say how many users you expect. Volume drives backend and infrastructure work.
See the app take shape
A live phone preview redraws itself with every answer, so you can check you described the right product before the costing runs.
Get the full breakdown
Leave your details and the full breakdown opens — an itemised estimate by discipline, a timeline, a recommended approach and a phone preview of what you described. A copy lands in your inbox.
By category
Popular app categories
Each guide covers what drives cost in that category, the three scope tiers most projects fall into, and the questions worth settling before a build starts. The logo on each card is simply the app most people picture for that category.
E-commerce app
Catalog, cart, checkout, orders
Read the guide
Social media app
Feeds, profiles, follows, sharing
Read the guide
Food delivery app
Menus, live orders, courier tracking
Read the guide
Healthcare app
Care, records, regulated patient data
Read the guide
FinTech app
Accounts, transfers, KYC, ledgers
Read the guide
On-demand app
Match a request to a live provider
Read the guide
Fitness app
Workouts, tracking, wearables
Read the guide
Education app
Courses, lessons, progress, quizzes
Read the guide
Travel app
Search, availability, bookings
Read the guide
Cost factors
What actually changes the price
Six factors account for nearly all the variance between the cheapest app on the market and the most expensive one. The calculator asks about each of them, and your results page shows what each one contributed.
Platform
One native app is the baseline. Cross-platform adds roughly 15–25% and covers both stores; two native codebases can add close to 50%.
Up to +50%
Complexity
The number of screens, user roles and business rules. The single largest input — a simple app and an enterprise build differ by an order of magnitude.
The biggest single factor
Features
Every feature carries design, front-end, back-end and test cost. Chat, live maps, streaming and AI are the expensive ones.
Every feature priced on its own
Expected traffic
User volume decides backend architecture, database capacity, caching, cloud infrastructure and how much performance and security work is needed.
Adds a dedicated infrastructure line
Design level
Stock components are cheapest. A research-led premium experience scales the whole build, because every screen and state is produced to that standard.
−8% to +28%
Backend & integrations
A managed backend costs nothing extra to start. Custom APIs, admin consoles, reporting and third-party integrations each add a defined block.
Managed costs nothing extra; custom does
Example scopes
What a real scope looks like
Four configurations the calculator sees often, with the shape and timeline each one implies. Run your own through the calculator to get the costed version.
| Scope | Platform | Complexity | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple MVP, one platformA focused first release with accounts and notifications. | iOS only | Simple | 1 – 2 months |
| E-commerce app, both storesCatalog, cart, payments and an admin console. | Cross-platform | Medium | 4 – 6 months |
| On-demand delivery platformLive tracking, courier app, payments and dispatch. | Cross-platform | Complex | 10 – 13 months |
| Enterprise FinTech appRegulated data, single sign-on, audit trail, SLA. | Both iOS & Android (native) | Advanced / Enterprise | 17 – 23 months |
Development process
Where the time goes
The timeline your estimate shows is elapsed calendar time for a normally staffed team, not a sum of ideal engineering hours.
Discovery & scoping
1–3 weeks
Requirements, user flows, technical constraints and a prioritised backlog. This is where scope gets fixed and cost stops being a guess.
UI/UX design
2–6 weeks
Wireframes, a design system, then production screens and states. Runs slightly ahead of engineering rather than finishing first.
Development
8–32 weeks
App and backend built in parallel in two-week sprints, with something demonstrable at the end of each one.
QA & store launch
2–5 weeks
Device matrix testing, regression, performance and security checks, then App Store and Google Play submission and review.
FAQ
Mobile app development cost questions
Is this calculator a quote?
No. It is a planning estimate generated from the requirements you select, using typical US market rates. A real quotation needs discovery — your existing systems, integration realities, deadlines and the details that only surface in conversation. The estimate is deliberately shown as a range for that reason, and the results page separates the model’s calculated value from the estimated range around it.
What is not included in the estimate?
Content production, third-party licence and API fees, ongoing cloud and bandwidth costs, app store developer fees, paid marketing, and post-launch maintenance. Most teams budget 15–20% of the original build cost per year for maintenance, OS updates and small improvements.
Why does expected traffic change the price?
Because volume changes the engineering underneath the app, not the app itself. At a few hundred users a managed database and host are enough. At hundreds of thousands you need caching, read replicas, autoscaling, performance budgets, load testing and a harder security posture — all of which is real work, priced as its own block in your breakdown.
Is it cheaper to build cross-platform than native?
If you need both stores, almost always. One React Native or Flutter codebase typically costs 25–35% less than two native apps of the same scope and keeps both platforms on a single release train. If you only need one platform, native is the cheaper and better choice.
How long does it take to build a mobile app?
A simple app takes about 2–4 months. A medium-complexity product takes 4–7 months. Complex platforms take 8–14 months, and enterprise programmes longer. The calculator derives a timeline from your scope, on the assumption of a normally staffed team of three to six people.
Do I have to give my email to see the estimate?
Yes. The calculator asks for your name and email on the last step, then shows the full estimate, breakdown, timeline and recommendations, and emails you a copy. We use those details to send the estimate and to reply about your project — not for a newsletter or a mailing list, and never shared with third parties.
Find out what your app should cost
Seven questions, about two minutes, and a full itemised estimate in US dollars at the end, and a copy in your inbox. No obligation.